1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of flashlights and, more particularly, to special purpose flashlights configured for illuminating areas having limited access.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
There are disclosed in various previous U.S. patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,061 mechanical apparatus for enabling the keyless unlocking of locked automobile doors from the outside by lawfully-acting individuals, such as peace officers, firemen, locksmiths, and tow truck operators, without damaging the automobile door or door locking mechanism. As described in such prior patents, the door unlocking apparatus includes a flat, slender tool, sometimes called a "Slim Jim", constructed of a strip of somewhat flexible metal which is shaped for being slid downwardly into a locked automobile door along the outside of the door's closed window. Such tool is disclosed as having an edge-opening slot near the lower end which forms a hook by means of which, after the tool is inserted into a hollow door, a mechanical door locking linkage inside the door may be engaged. Thereafter, the tool is manipulated until the linkage is moved sufficiently to unlock the door.
In another U.S. patents there is disclosed a different type of such door unlocking tool which is shaped for being inserted downwardly into an automobile door and for engaging a door locking/unlocking lever or button located on the door panel inside the automobile.
In both such applications, there was disclosed the use of a wedge configured for being inserted downwardly between the outside of the window of the locked door and the flexible rain seal at the bottom of the window so as to provide sidewardly adjacent access gaps for the tool between the window and the seal. These gaps enable the door unlocking tool to be inserted easily into the hollow door region and also enable the easier manipulation of the tool so that mechanical door locking linkages inside the door can be snagged by the tool (in one case) or so that the tool can engage the door locking/unlocking lever on the inside door panel (in the other case).
It can, perhaps, be appreciated that even in broad daylight the inside of automobile of other doors is very dark. In fact, the light contrast between the inside of the door and bright sunlight outside accentuates the darkness inside the door. As a result even in the daylight, manipulation of the door unlocking tools inside the door is usually done pretty much by feel, the locking linkage, for example, being "fished" for until it is snagged by the hook end of the tool. This means that the length of time required to unlock the door is increased over what should be possible, and in emergency situations this added unlocking time may have serious consequences.
The use of an ordinary flashlight to illuminate the inside of the door while the tool is being manipulated is usually unsatisfactory since it is difficult to shine the flashlight into the door through the small gap at one side of the wedge-shaped object and to manipulate the tool at the same time, particularly since the gaps at the edge of the wedge-shaped object are ordinarily quite narrow.
It is, therefore, a principal object of the present invention to provide means for effectively illuminating the inside of an automobile door while leaving both hands of an operator free to manipulate a door unlocking tool within the door, and without requiring the use of conventional electric lights, a source of power for which may not be readily or quickly available.